(C) OpenDemocracy This story was originally published by OpenDemocracy and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . University of St Andrews accused of fuelling racist abuse of Black colleague who condemned Israel [1] [] Date: 2024-02 Bosses at a prestigious university have been accused of fuelling racist abuse against a Black colleague who was accused of antisemitism for condemning Israel’s attacks on Gaza. University of St Andrews rector Stella Maris wrote to students in November calling for a ceasefire and an end to the collective punishment of Palestinians. Following an open letter from some students accusing her of “fostering hate” and justifying the horrific acts of Hamas on 7 October, the university announced it was “utterly dismayed” and said it would investigate whether her message was “compatible” with her role. In response, another open letter from 100 staff members accused the leadership of a “profound failure of due diligence in accepting false accusations” made about Maris. The staff pointed out Maris had explicitly denounced Hamas’s actions in her email. They also condemned the university’s failure to mention the barrage of abuse and harassment Maris had received. Maris told openDemocracy: “At first, the sheer number of [messages] was overwhelming. And because at that point, the support hadn’t started coming in, it felt extremely isolating.” What do you think? Win a £10 book voucher for sharing your views about openDemocracy. Tell us She added that the university’s statement “formed part of the development of a biased media narrative that ignored the factual basis [she] provided for [her] claims”. In their supportive letter, her colleagues added it was “deeply shocking to witness an all-white senior leadership team publicly condemn the only Black woman in the university’s governance structures for taking an anti-war stance”. The letter added: “Moreover, it has exacerbated the injustice done to rector Maris by reiterating and amplifying these accusations and by itself wrongly accusing her of failing to use words responsibly.” Having made previous statements about the queen, Iran, Afghanistan, and transphobic graffiti in her local area, Maris said she found it “frustrating” that her statement advocating for Palestinians was met with such fierce backlash. She also felt there was a lack of proper support from senior leadership in the wake of the abuse. She said: “As a person with numerous learning difficulties, and mental health issues, that lack of support has made it difficult going into this situation, and very much feeling like the university that I’ve put so much of myself into – my time, effort and energy – is on the other side of this situation. “I don’t have a tonne of resources, getting access to legal advice and support and things like that has been quite difficult.” She added: “It felt like I’m not going to get help from members of the principal’s office or senior leadership because there’s this sense that I brought this on myself. That lack of visible support made it seem very much like the sentiment behind what I said was going to be hijacked.” The university has since reaffirmed its “strong commitment to zero tolerance for any form of racism or hate”. A university spokesperson said: “We were appalled that the rector experienced racist online abuse after setting out her personal views on the war in Gaza and Israel. “A number of the University senior management team got to know Stella well and worked closely with her when she was a student and rector’s assessor, and all of those people have reached out to her to offer support after she became rector in November last year and after she issued her message.” It added there is no evidence the online abuse came from any student or member of staff at St Andrews. Maris had accused Israel of “apartheid, siege, illegal occupation and collective punishment” against Palestinians. Her email also provided links to sources for students, including social media accounts of Palestinian journalists, ceasefire petitions, and details of where to find information about local protests. Her statement condemned “any form of bigotry” and denounced the actions by Hamas on 7 October as war crimes. She told openDemocracy that antisemitism goes against “everything [she] stands for”. Members of staff said while the university pays attention to “baseless criticisms” against Maris, “the senior leadership team has ignored the fact that there is considerable support for her and for a ceasefire among the student body”. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/st-andrews-university-stella-maris-racist-abuse-israel-palestine-genocide/ Published and (C) by OpenDemocracy Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/opendemocracy/